Homelessness more visible than ever on capital’s streets

Tuesday, 18 March 2025

Dave Armstrong is a playwright and satirist based in Wellington. He is a regular opinion contributor.

OPINION: “Got some coins boss?” “Any spare change?” “Excuse me, sir, I don’t have anything to eat.” It’s another day in Newtown – just days after yet another highly successful festival where it feels as if half the city turned up to celebrate Newtownness – and we are back to normal.

Aside from Newtown’s wonderfully diverse range of people, its colourful personalities, the fantastic little shops, the array of great eateries and even its own music venue where the cool kids hang outside, the suburb seems to have a bit of a problem, as does every inner-city suburb in the country.

There have been homeless people and beggars in Wellington for many years. Some, like Blanket Man, became minor celebrities. But the number of homeless and beggars in Wellington seems to have mushroomed recently. I even spied someone pushing their possessions in a supermarket trolley along a wealthy, leafy street in Kelburn recently.

Yes, I give both time and money to various charities. But no, I don’t hand over money every time I am asked, although I have no problem with people who do – they have often been there themselves. And no, I don’t always agree with the “they’ll only spend it on alcohol” argument.

In the more than 30 years I’ve lived in Newtown I’ve never been jostled, assaulted or even yelled at by a homeless person. It’s easy to make assumptions about those asking for help, and it’s easy to be wrong.

One man who took up residence in the nearest bus shelter read novels often found on university reading lists. Last weekend, I overheard a mostly-informed conversation amongst some beggars about the existence of both harmful and non-harmful (“camembert cheese”) bacteria. I didn’t point out that Penicillium camemberti is actually a fungus, or that camembert has a silent “t”. But the number of those begging and sleeping on the streets has greatly increased.

It used to be the odd person asking for coins and now it’s a chorus. It’s more permanent as well with beds, sleeping bags and furniture appearing. There was even a bookshelf that one couple had constructed before being moved on. That’s what I call structured literacy.

According to Wellington’s DCM (Downtown Community Ministry) there was a 40% increase in homelessness between September 2023 to 2024. Rough sleeping went up 37%. They believe the government’s crackdown on emergency housing, where criteria were toughened, was a major cause.

And it’s not just Wellington. According to Auckland City Council Community Committee, current data collected locally indicated a 53% increase in “unsheltered sleeping” in Auckland over the last four months.

Although the problem is a national one, can our council play its part? They already partner with DCM to assist the “rough sleeping community”, but I suspect they are swamped at present.

It’s nearly two years since the awful Loafer’s Lodge fire, and one wonders that if the council tried to make real change, they would be told by ratepayers to just concentrate on fixing the pipes.

So, what can individuals do? In Wellington’s inner-city suburbs the middle classes live cheek-by-jowl with others. People on Neighbourly and local Facebook and WhatsApp groups are often disturbed by homelessness. Some who are sympathetic try and do something about the person living in the bus stop in freezing conditions or a disturbed woman wailing in front of a suburban house.

Invariably, after a few acts of attempted kindness, they find that it’s not a problem that can be immediately solved by calling a relative of the person or contacting a charity. Police end up dealing with many problems, and the group move on to asking if anyone wants some spare citrus fruit or complaining about a car that’s been parked in the street for an inordinately long time.

It’s easy to look at a person asking you for a few coins and wonder why they don’t just clean themselves up, get a job and find somewhere to live. Yet it takes a whole village to raise a homeless person. They are often people who have severe mental health and addiction issues.

Somewhere along the way, they are likely to have suffered abuse, perhaps from the state – the same state that is now crowing about its stats on the reduction in emergency housing. Or they may have been abused in faith-based care or by family or both.

Asking them to “get their act together” while dealing with their trauma is like asking someone to think about pruning their roses while their house is burning down behind them.

So, there’s the problem. Central government have abdicated responsibility, council have multiple priorities and not much money, residents feel uncomfortable, so the ones doing the most are charities like DCM, City Mission and the Sallies.

When the long-term solutions include more affordable housing for those on low incomes, more wraparound social services, a war on poverty, and time and money spent on helping those with mental health issues, I’m not convinced the situation is going to improve any time soon.